Current electronic gaming machines allow a player to place a wager or bet, in return for which a play of the game provided by the gaming machine is conducted. Many venues offer a progressive jackpot, provided by a plurality of gaming machines participating in the jackpot, to be conducted. Typically, a portion of turnover on each gaming machine is forwarded to a jackpot controller as a contribution. That is, part of each wager goes towards the jackpot. The technique can be extended to a so called wide area jackpot where gaming machines from a number of different venues contribute to a single jackpot pool.